Safe and Sound
by Shadougelover14
Summary: Follows my other story, Never Alone. Sandy reminisces about his past memories with Bunny as he keeps watch over his dreams...


Sandy let out a relieved sigh as he arrived at the Pole; tonight had been a good night. Little to no nightmares, calm weather, and he'd even gotten to hang around with Tooth in a few places. She'd finished earlier than him, and told him she'd be returning to the Pole for some rest. Sandy decided to do the same; North had announced that they could, and already had rooms set up specifically for each Guardian beforehand.

After cutting through the surprisingly calm workshop area, he entered the hall leading to their rooms. When he arrived at his door, though, he noticed North standing in front of it. The Russian man looked up at him as he arrived, blue eyes filled with worry.

"Sandy my friend, it pains me to trouble you, but…Bunny, he needs you. Pitch has been tormenting him all night. I did best I could, but it is a problem only you can solve."

Sandy's eyes were filled with worry as well, and he nodded, before hurrying off to the Pooka's room.

A few minutes later, he was hovering beside the bed of the rabbit in question, staring down at him with worry in his golden brown eyes. Bunny _seemed_ to be sleeping peacefully, but the twisted sheets and wet fur under his eyes were obvious signs of fitful sleep.

Sandy frowned sadly, before sprinkling some dream sand over him. Bunny appeared to relax, and little golden carrots floated about his head. As he watched with a soft smile, Sandy thought back to when he'd first met the Pooka.

Unbeknownst to the other Guardians, he'd met Bunny a long, long time ago, before Bunny had become a Guardian…before he'd even become an immortal in fact. Tooth knew him through his memories, but Sandy had officially met him in person before Bunny had even met the others. Sandy only wished it could've been under happier circumstances…

:::::::::::::::::::::

_Sandy had just finished his final rounds in North America when he'd received the message._

_The moonlight shifted some, and one beam moved in a different direction than the others, pointing southeastward. Sandy glanced up at the moon curiously, before following._

_After about an hour, he arrived in the continent of Australia. As he continued towards the Outback, he couldn't help but wonder why the Man in the Moon would send him here?_

_He got his answer when the beam stopped at a cluster of bushes. Nestled among them was a young Pooka, with a pair of boomerangs lying beside him. Confused, Sandy looked around for a parent or some other older Pooka. Pookas were known for their fierce protection of their young; this one looked about ten, so he still warranted the protection of his tribe until he reached a certain age. So where were they?_

_Sandy glanced up at the moon in hopes of an answer, but a soft whimper made him look back down at the Pooka. His face was scrunched up in fear and sorrow, and another whimper escaped him as tears formed in the corners of his eyes._

_For a moment, Sandy was going to use his sand to give him a better dream, but he paused. If he looked into the dream, perhaps it would answer his question as to why this Pooka was out here alone. He felt bad, but…Manny had obviously sent him out here for a reason, and the dream might be the best way to get answers._

_He slowly lifted a hand towards the Pooka, and placed it on his forehead, and closed his eyes. A golden glow formed around them, and an image formed in Sandy's mind._

_A village full of Pookas…black sand flooding the place, smothering many Pookas along the way…fire making quick work of the huts as Pookas fled them, only to be met with sharply clawed shadowy creatures…a female Pooka with tan fur racing off with several in pursuit of her…the young Pooka crouched beside an older one with several injuries on him, and a large puddle of blood forming beside him as the younger one let out a wail of despair…a tall shadowy man with piercing yellow eyes, grinning madly…_

_Sandy jerked back with a shocked look on his face. That man…it looked like…_

_His sudden movement caused the Pooka to snap awake with a gasp. He sat up, gazing at the Sandman with wide green eyes._

"_Who-who are you?!" he demanded in a thick Australian accent._

_Sandy held his hands up in a friendly type of gesture, before forming a few sand pictures above his head; one was just a stream of sand, and the other was a simple form of a man. The Pooka frowned for a moment, before speaking again._

"_Sand…man?"_

_Sandy nodded with a smile, before pointing at the Pooka and forming a question mark. The Pooka was hesitant, before answering._

"_I-I'm Aster…"_

_Sandy nodded again, before gesturing around with a questioning frown. A house formed over his head, and a question mark beside it. Aster paused for a moment, before crumbling. Tears soaked his fur as he curled into a quivering ball. Sandy jumped, before landing on his feet beside Aster and putting a hand on his shoulder._

_-I remember tears streamin' down your face when I said I'll never let you go-_

"_It's gone…everything's gone…!" Aster sobbed._

_Sandy gave his shoulder a pat, before making a question mark. Aster took quick short breathes, and Sandy tried to get him to breathe properly before he made himself pass out._

_-When all those shadows almost killed your light-_

"_He…he came out of nowhere…! He destroyed everything! He killed every…everyone…"_

_Sandy could only rub his back in an attempt to comfort him as he felt his own eyes starting to water. Glancing up at the moon, Sandy noticed that the light seemed to have dimmed somewhat, as if Manny was sad as well._

"_It's not fair, it's not fair…why did this happen?!"_

_Sandy merely shook his head sadly, before hovering a little and moving in front of Aster. The young Pooka looked up, slight worry in his eyes; as if he was afraid Sandy was leaving._

"_Don't-don't leave me!"_

_Sandy quickly shook his head to show he wasn't._

_-I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone."-_

_He formed a stream of golden sand, and it circled around Aster as it formed various pictures of butterflies, flowers, and boomerangs flying around. Aster let out a small laugh, though it still sounded a bit like a sob, as he watched the dancing golden figures. Sandy smiled, before directing the sand into Aster's face. The Pooka's eyes started fluttering sleepily, and he sank back into the bed of leaves and grass he'd been using. His eyes glanced up at Sandy with a questioning gaze._

"_St-stay…?"_

_-But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight-_

_Sandy nodded with a reassuring smile, and hovered beside him as he stroked his head. Aster gave a soft sigh, before slipping into peaceful slumber. A few seconds later, a sand image of three Pookas appeared above his head, embraced in one large hug. Sandy smiled again, before looking up at the moon solemnly. As he stared, a calming voice sounded in his head._

'_E. Aster Bunnymund…last of the Pookas…protect him, for he is of great importance…'_

_Sandy slowly nodded, before he looked back down at Aster. After a minute, he took a breath, and started singing in a soft voice._

"_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound,"_

_Sandy hardly ever spoke anymore, if at all, but he felt the situation called for it. Aster was curled up in a ball, snoring softly, and a sleepy smile on his face. He murmured something softly, but Sandy could still hear it._

"_Mom…Dad…"_

_For the rest of the night Sandy was silent, but he didn't leave Aster for a minute. The moon shone down brightly on the duo, until it set it the distance, and dawn broke. Sandy knew he had to go, but before he left, he spoke into the Pooka's dream, so he knew he would hear._

'_I'll be back…'_

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_Ever since that night, Sandy had visited Aster every chance he got, day or night. Aster would get a kick out of chasing the golden figures made out of the sand, or using them to practice with his boomerangs while Sandy laughed at his antics. Aster had even told him about his village, friends, and family, though it was slow going at first. _

_Some nights though were less happy; Aster would be in the midst of a nightmare on some nights where Sandy was running late, and depending on how bad it looked, Sandy would either use the dream sand, or wake him up if it was really bad. During the day, they would race through the woods, although Aster would always end up winning due to his rabbit speed._

_Despite the rough nights, Sandy had fun spending time with the Pooka. Aster was getting stronger, faster, and bigger; after learning about what Sandy did to protect children, he decided to do help him out, and would guard the villages from threats day and night. When a child wandered too far from home and got lost, he would help them find their way back. When they would tell their parents about what happened, they just shook their heads with tired smiles and took them inside. Word spread though, and after a few years Aster had become a well-known legend around the Outback._

_Sandy was glad to let him help…but he couldn't help the nagging feeling in his gut that something would happen…something bad._

_And then one night, twenty years later, that feeling became a fact._

_The night had been worrisome; nightmares were popping up like crazy, and he'd had to make return trips to some places. Finally, after about four hours of rerouting and dream fixing, there weren't any nightmares popping up on his radar. He let out a sigh of exhaustion, before hurrying towards Australia. He arrived at the spot he and Aster would usually meet, but there was no sign of the Pooka. After a few minutes, he knew something was wrong, and set off in search of the Pooka. _

_He checked each and every village he knew Aster liked to hang around, but found nothing. After half an hour of fruitless searching, Sandy finally turned to the moon for help. The light hit the ground in front of him, and shadowy figures formed. He recognized the form of Aster…and the next figure that appeared made his heart stop; he knew that tall dark figure, they'd been going at each other for centuries: Pitch Black._

_Seeing Pitch would've been bad enough, but the next image shocked him to his very core. _

_The shadow form of Aster was fighting off several shadows, before an image of Pitch appeared with a spear…and he stabbed Aster through the chest. _

'_NO!'_

_Sandy wasn't sure if he'd thought it or shouted it, but all the same, he was unwilling to believe what he was seeing. Aster couldn't…he couldn't be gone._

'_Where…?' he thought, looking up at Manny._

'_Do not worry, Sanderson, I have taken care of him…but he needs to be alone for a while.'_

_Sandy frowned, a question mark forming above his head._

'_It will take some time for him to get accustomed to his newfound abilities, but you will be able to visit soon, I promise. But he will need help with his dreams…Pitch has left deep wounds in his heart and mind…'_

_Sandy nodded solemnly, before lifting into the air, and heading in the direction he'd left his giant golden ship._

_As he was leaving though, he swore he saw a green light coming from a distant patch of forest…_

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A sudden whimper snapped Sandy out of his memories, and he glanced down at Bunny in surprise.

The Pooka was curled up on his side, a pained expression on his face as the golden carrots above his head dissipated. Sandy frowned, before whipping around to face the darkest corner in the room. After a few seconds, two yellow eyes appeared, followed by a set of teeth forming an amused grin.

Sandy crossed his arms, landing on the floor and tapping his foot impatiently as he glared. A chuckle sounded, before a tall dark form emerged from the shadows.

"Oh relax, Sandy, I'm just having a little _fun_." Pitch stated with a smirk.

Sandy's glare hardened, before sand started forming over his head. He was too angry to even form pictures, so the sand just formed words: LEAVE. NOW.

Pitch chuckled again, and strolled closer, carefully passing the Sandman, and stopping beside the bed.

"He was _so_ adorable back then; always ready to charge into a fight, without even thinking of the consequences. That's always how I led him into the forest that night, you know. It was so pathetically easy too; and here I thought Pookas were supposed to be smart."

Pitch's smirk widened, and he lifted a hand towards Bunny as the Pooka's forehead creased further.

"Even now, thousands of years later, he still has the most _delicious_ fear…"

He laid the back of his hand on Bunny's temple gently, almost in a caring manner, and a small amount of black sand went from his hand onto Bunny. Bunny suddenly let out a loud whimper that quickly turned into a sob, and Pitch let out another chuckle.

A golden sand whip suddenly wrapped around his wrist, and yanked him back. Sandy was glaring furiously at him, and the words LEAVE NOW formed again, only bigger and there was an exclamation point after each word.

Pitch smirked, and wrenched his hand free.

"Alright, alright, ruin my fun why don't you?"

He headed for the shadowed corner he'd come from, and glanced back at Sandy.

"Give him my regards in the morning, won't you?"

Seconds later, he vanished into the shadows, and a ball of golden sand just barely missed him. Sandy glowered for a minute, before hurrying back to Bunny's side. The Pooka was squirming around in his sleep, whimpering pitifully. Sandy spread more dream sand over him, and after a few tense seconds, Bunny was sleeping peacefully again, a small smile forming.

Sandy smiled as well, and gave the Pooka's head a soft pat, before forming a large golden lazy chair beside the bed, and settling into it. Both he and Bunny would definitely be needing some rest tonight…

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_**I wasn't originally going to make a part two, but a reviewer asked for one, and I couldn't stop thinking about making one! So, yeah, I've got this whole idea about Sandy and Bunny knowing each other and being friends before Bunny was made a Guardian. Who wants to guess where the title came from? ;-) I was listening to it, and this story suddenly sprang into my head!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed!**_


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